of  rt)c 

^nibersiitp  of  igortf)  Carolina 


Wt}i&  book  tuaif  presienteb 

fap 


?<>■' 


Educational  Publication  No.  101 


Division  of  Publication  No.  27 


PUBLIC  EDUCATION 


IN 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


published  by  the 

State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Items 


Total  school  expenditure 

Expenditure  current  expense 

3.  Expenditure  capital  outlay 

4.  Value  of  school  property..- 

Average  value  per  schoolhouse 

Xumber  of  log  houses 

Xumber  of  white  one-teacher  schools 

Xumber  of  teachers 

a.  White 

b.  Colored 

'    P.    Average  monthly  salary  paid  each  teacher . 

a.  White 

b.  Colored 

10.  Average  term  in  days 

a.  White  schools 

b.  Colored  schools 

11.  Average  number  days  in  school 

a.  White  pupils 

b.  Colored  pupils 

12.  Total  school  population 

a.  White 

b.  Colored 

13.  Total  school  enrollment 

14.  Total  average  daily  attendance 

15.  Per  cent  of  population  enrolled 

16.  Per  cent  of  enrollment  in  average  attendance... 

1".     Xumber  of  public  high  schools 

IS.    Enrollment  in  public  high  schools 

19.  Xumber  libraries 

20.  Xumber  volumes  in  libraries 

21.  Educational  appropriations: 

a.  Public  schools,  Maintenance 

b.  Xormal  schools,  Improvements! 

Maintenance 

c.  Higher  institutions.  Improvements! 

Maintenance 

22.  Per  cent  illiteracy  for  State 

a.  White 

b .  Colored 


1919-1920 


1,062,303.71 
1,004,903.09 
57,400.62 
1,097,564.00 
158.65 
1,190 
5,047 
8,320 
5,753 
2,567 
23.46 
24.79 
20.48 
70.8 
73.3 
65.3 


657,949 

439,431 

218,518 

400,452 

206,918 

60. 

51. 

*30 

*2,000 


S  12,214,258.20 

9,568,743.10 

2,645,515.10 

24,057,838.00 

3,009.50 

94 
2,513 
16,854 
12,970 
3,884 
S  69.55 

75.90 
46.85 
134.0 
135.9 
127.4 
91.8 
95.7 
81.9 
840,981 
573,736 
267,245 
691,249 
473,552 


420 

29,294 


100,000.00    8**3,476,796.57 


16,000.00 
12,500.00 
65,000.00  ' 

28.7 

19.5 

47.6 


139,600.00 


542,500.00 
13.1 
8.2 
24.5 


1924-1925 


33,978, 

21,030, 

12,947, 

70,705, 

9, 

I. 

1, 

22, 

16, 


941, 
643, 
297, 
809, 
596, 


73, 

3, 

590, 


063.68 

810.23 

253.45 

835.00 

964.18 

;43 

457 

248 

920 

328 

103.04 

113.28 

67.70 
144.9 
147.9 
135.0 
106.6 
112.8 

91.3 
483 
572 
911 
834 
211 

86.0 

73.6 
712 
593 
194 
273 


1,678,750.00 
2,219,000.00 
403,000.00 
4,795,000.00 
1,565,000.00 


*Estimate  based  on  the  number  of  public  high  schools  supported  by  local  taxation. 
**When  State  levied  ad  valorem  tax  and  apportioned  three  months  teachers'  salaries. 
fTwo  years. 


PUBLIC  EDUCATION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


GENERAL  STATEMENT 

Constitutional  Provisions  and  Administration.  The  Constitution  of  North 
Carolina  declares  that  the  people  have  the  right  to  tlie  privilege  of  educa- 
tion: that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  guard  and  maintain  tliat  right,  and 
that  the  General  Assembly  shall  provide  by  taxation  and  otlierwise  for  a 
general  and  uniform  system  of  public  schools  wherein  tuition  shall  be  free 
of  charge  to  all  children  of  the  State  between  tlie  ages  of  six  and  twenty- 
one  years. 

The  public  school  system  in  this  State  is  considered  only  tliat  which  per- 
tains to  the  elementary  and  high  schools.  This  part  of  the  system  is  ad- 
ministered by  the  State  Board  of  Education,  which  is  composed  of  the 
following: 

Governor  A.  W.  McLe.\n.   President 

J.  Ei.MKR  LoxG,  Lieutenant  Governor 

W.  N.  Everett,   Secretary  of  State 

Baxter  Dirii  x^r.  Auditor 

B.  R.  Lacy.  Treasurer 

D.  G.  Brimmitt.  Attorney  General 

A.  T.  Allex.  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Secretary 

The  county  board  of  education  is  the  administrative  authority  for  main- 
taining the  public  schools  of  the  county  except  in  certain  schools  that  have 
been  granted  a  special  charter  by  the  General  Assembly  to  operate  inde- 
pendently. The  school  committee  has  local  control  of  the  school  buildings 
and  school  property,  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  employing  teachers  for  the 
public  schools,  and  their  contracts  with  teachers  are  valid  when  approved 
by  the  county  superintendent  of  schools. 

Support.  Public  schools  in  North  Carolina  are  supported  largely  by  a 
county  ad  valorem  school  tax  levy  sufficient  to  meet  the  constitutional  re- 
quirements for  a  minimum  term  of  six  months.  When  the  county  levy  is 
insufficient,  the  State  aids  in  the  payment  of  teachers'  salaries  by  what  is 
known  as  an  Equalizing  Fund.  This  fund,  which  amounted  to  $1,500,000 
during  1924-25,  is  a  direct  appropriation  from  tlie  State  Treasury  for  tliis 
purpose.  The  school  fund  thus  provided  is  supplemented  in  a  great  many 
school  districts  through  the  levy  of  a  local  district  tax  on  polls  and  property 
to  increase  the  term  or  supplement  teachers'  salaries. 


K  ? 


ELEMENTARY  AND  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  twentieth  century  our  elementary  and 
secondary  schools  grew  remarkably.  As  the  following  table  shows,  the 
enrollment  in  such  institutions  more  than  doubled. 

Last  year,  1924-25,  there  was  a  total  expenditure  of  slightly  less  than 
thirty-four  mlll.ons  of  dollars  as  compared  with  approximately  one  million 
dollars  twenty-five  years  ago.  The  city  of  Winston-Salem,  alone,  has  a 
single  school  building  which  cost  more  than  the  entire  sum  spent  for  public 
education   in  North  Carolina   in   1900. 

This  growth  is  shown  in  other  items,  especially  the  increased  per  cent 
of  the  school  enrollment  which  is  graduating  from  high  schools.  In  1910 
one  in  a  thousand  pupils  enrolled  in  elementary  and  high  schools  graduated 
from  high  school.  During  the  past  school  year,  1924-25,  one  out  of  seventy- 
seven  completed  high  school.  In  short,  a  child  of  school  age  last  year  was 
thirteen  times  as  apt  to  have  finished  high  school  as  he  would  have  been 
had  he  reached  the  world  fifteen  years  earlier. 

GEOWTH  IN  ELEMENTARY  AND  HIGH  SCHOOLS 
IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Year 

Total 
Expenditure 

Total   . 
Enrollment 

Per  Pupil 
Expenditure 

High  School 
Graduates 

Total  Number 
Teachers 

1900 

S        1,062,303.71 
3,178,950.50 

400,452 
520,404 

S                      2.74 
6.11 

8,320 

1910 

510 

11,162 

1920 

12,214,250.00 

691,249 

17.67 

2,999 

16.854 

1921 

17,487,763.70 

707,762 

24.70 

3,710 

18,361 

1922 

21,649,645.99 

753,698 

28.72 

4,213 

19,733 

1923 

29,856,988.81 

775,495 

38.49 

5,795 

20,536 

1924 

29,747,075.84 

793,406 

37.51 

8,863 

21,403 

1925 

33,978,063.88 

809,834 

41.96 

10,466 

22,248 

Eleni'^ntary  School  Progress.  In  1924,  in  response  to  the  demand  for  a 
statement  of  the  minimum  conditions  under  which  standard  instruction 
could  be  given,  the  requirements  for  a  standard  elementary  school  were 
worked  out,  based  on  the  conditions  considered  necessary  to  be  provided  if 
a  child  is  to  have  an  equal  opportunity  in  the  elementary  school.  The  mini- 
mum requirements  for  a  standard  elementary  school  are  as  follows: 

1.  A  seven-year  course  of  study 

2.  A  term   of  eight  months 

3.  At  least  seven  teachers,  holding  proper  certificates 

4.  At  least  205  pupils  in  average  daily  attendance 

5.  Standard  equipment,   building,  and   system   of  records 

There  are  113  schools  in  the  State,  at  present,  which  meet  these  require- 
ments. 


0 


^■MMMM  |>—'Hl»'« 


■   •-■-'  -—«-*''^*>--t  ■"■■■>-•■ 


£Mil 


High  School  Progress.  As  the  tables  which  follow  show,  there  has  been 
considerable  development  in  the  field  of  secondary  education  since  1907. 
This  growth  was  stimulated  greatly  in  1920,  wiien  the  General  Assembly 
enacted  a  law  providing  revenue  for  the  establishment  of  standard  high 
schools  in  rural  communities.  From  this  source  approximately  $100,000 
per  year  has  been  used  in  those  counties  where  the  need  was  greatest  and 
certain  local  effort  was  made. 

HIGH    SCHOOL    STATISTICAL   SUMMARY,    1924-25 

White  Colored  Total 

Number    of    Teachers 3,661                  513  4,174 

Enrollment    72,181  9,521  81,702 

Graduates   9,473                  993  10,466 

Number  of  High   Schools..        701                   94  795 

High  School  Standardization.  Intelligent  interest  in  the  development  of 
high  schools  in  North  Carolina  is  manifested  in  no  way  better  than  in  the 
attention  which  people,  in  general,  are  giving  to  the  matter  of  accredited 
high  schools.  The  significance  of  this  standardization  is  more  easily  under- 
stood when  one  knows  that  a  standard  school  of  the  lowest  class  is  one 
that  meets  the  following  requirements: 

1.  A  four-year  course  of  study 

2.  An  eight-months  term 

3.  Three  whole-time  high  school  teachers,  holding  proper  certificates 

4.  Recitation  periods  45  minutes  in  length 

5.  Forty-five  pupils  in  average  daily  attendance 

6.  An  adequate  building  and  required  equipment 

At  the  close  of  the  session,  1925-26,  there  were  in  this  State  543  accredited 
schools,  public  and  private,  urban  and  rural,  white  and  colored.  Of  these 
standard  schools  494  were  white  and  49  colored.  In  this  connection  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  North  Carolina  has  three  times  as  many  colored 
accredited  high  schools  as  any  other  Southern  State  and  approximately  a 
fourth  as  many  as  all  Southern  states  combined.  Of  the  white  schools  453 
were  public  and  41  private.  Of  the  49  colored  schools  26  were  public  and 
23  private.  During  the  session  of  1924-25,  67,086  children  were  enrolled 
in  public  white  high  schools.  Of  this  number  57,687  or  86  per  cent  were 
enrolled  in  accredited  high  schools. 

Y ocational  Education.  Starting  with  the  21  schools  in  1917-18,  the  instruc- 
tion in  Vocational  Agriculture  has  grown  until  today  there  are  95  white 
schools  and  20  negro  schools  with  teachers  of  Vocational  Agriculture  em- 
ployed as  members  of  the  school  faculty,  teaching  agriculture  to  more  than 
five  thousand  farmers  and  farm  boys,  each  one  of  whom  carries  on  super- 
vised practice  work  related  to  the  instruction. 


The  following  table  gives  the  growth  of  vocational  education  in  the  three 
fields  of  activity: 


Ycur 


1918-19 
1919-20 
1920-21 
1921-22 
1922-23 
1923-24 
1924-25 
1925-26 


Agriculture 

Scliools 

Enrollment 

21 

323 

44 

721 

53 

1,019 

65 

1,468 

6.8 

1,900 

88 

2,282 

105 

5,293 

111 

5,800 

Home  Economics 


Schools 


3 

23 
55 
53 
81 
118 
140 
147 


Enrollment 


100 
814 
1,650 
1,940 
2,83] 
4,497 
5,552 
6,261 


Trades  and 

Industries 

Classes 

E 

tirollment 

, 

128 

73 

751 

163 

1,511 

180 

2, 103 

175 

2,021 

210 

2,987 

258 

4,044 

246 

3,699 

Visual  Education.  The  Bureau  of  Visual  Education  provides  free  film 
service,  aids  in  the  purchasing  of  standard  motion  picture  machines  for  the 
schools  at  net  wholesale  prices,  and  makes  pictures  and  lantern  slides  of 
educational  and  historical  value.  More  than  125  schools  now  have  approved 
projection  equipment  and  are  making  use  of  the  film  service  supplied  free 
by  this  department.  More  than  1,500,000  feet  of  film  are  available  for  dis- 
tribution. During  1924-25,  1,515  six-reel  programs  of  pictures  were  supplied 
to  95  schools.  The  total  attendance  on  these  programs  during  this  year 
was  210,638. 

The  service  offered  is  being  gradually  enlarged  to  include  films  of  in- 
structional value  as  well  as  entertainment.  Films  that  may  be  used  in  the 
classroom,  those  that  deal  with  history,  geography,  science,  travel,  industry, 
drama  and  literature,  are  being  purchased  and  will  be  available  for  future 
use. 


10 


SCHOOL  BUILDING  PROGRESS 

The  progress  that  North  Carolina  has  made  in  education  during  the  past 
twenty-five  years  is  materially  shown  in  the  school  buildings  which  laave 
been  erected  for  the  white  children,  the  colored  children  and  the  Indian 
children  of  the  State. 

In  1900  the  total  value  of  all  school  property  in  the  State  was  only  $1,097,564. 
There  were  6,91S  buildings  having  an  average  value  of  $159.  Nearly  all  of 
these  buildings  contained  less  than  three  rooms  and   1.190   were  log  houses. 

The  State's  direct  participation  in  building  modern  achoolhouses  began  in 
1903  when,  through  the  influence  of  Superintendent  Joyner,  the  Legislature 
converted  the  old  State  School  fund  of  $200,000  known  as  the  "Literary  Fund." 
into  a  permanent  loan  fund  as  a  practical  plan  of  securing  in  a  reasonable 
time  a  comfortable  and  respectable  schoolhouse  in  every  rural  district  in 
the  State.  On  June  30,  1925,  the  principal  amounted  to  $1,217,766.50  and 
the  amount  available  to  be  loaned  each  year  is  $255,000. 

To  meet  the  demands  for  larger  consolidated  schools  the  Legislature  of 
1921  authorized  a  special  building  fund  of  $5,000,000.  No  loan  could  be  made 
from  this  fund  for  erecting  or  repairing  any  school  building  containing  less 
than  five  classrooms.  So  gratifying  were  the  results  obtained  from  the 
first  five-million-dollar  special  building  fund  that  the  Legislature  of  1923 
authorized  another  bond  issue  of  $5,000,000  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  Legislature  of  1925  authorized  a  third  five  million.  A  condition  pre- 
cedent to  receive  a  loan  from  this  issue  was  that  the  building  to  be  erected 
contained  at  least  seven  classrooms,  and  that  the  building  be  modern  in  all 
of  its  attainments. 

An  evidence  of  what  is  being  done  for  the  colored  children  is  the  work 
of  the  Julius  Rosenwald  Fund,  which  has  aided  in  the  construction  of  571 
buildings  within  the  State.     These  are  valued  at  $2,796,710. 

The  State  has  made  special  appropriations  of  $62,000  to  aid  in  the  con- 
struction of  modern  schools  for  the   Indian   children  of  Robeson   County. 

At  present  North  Carolina  is  spending  at  the  rate  of  about  $11,000,000  per 
year  in  the  modernization  of  her  school  buildings.  The  following  table  gives 
some  idea  of  the  progress  that  is  being  made  along  this  line: 

Expenditure  for 

Year  TaJue  of  School  Propi  rty  Capital  Outlay 

1900  $  1,097,564.00  $        56,207.60 

1910  5,862,969.00  435,765.58 

1920  24,057,838.00  2.355,061.02 

1921  28,202,133.00  3,716,619.17 

1922  35,268,970.00  5,795,872.88 

1923  48,874,830.00  12,198,385.42 

1924  59,758,005.00  10,156,407.99 

1925  70,705,835.00  12.470,059.28 


13 


CONSOLIDATION  AND  TRANSPORTATION 

Consolidation.  One  of  the  incidents  of  consolidation  is  the  elimination 
of  the  one-  and  two-teacher  schools.  In  1900-01  there  were  7,829  one-teacher 
rural  schools  in  the  State.  The  past  school  year,  1924-25,  there  were  only 
2,720  one-teacher  schools.  There  has  been  a  decrease  in  this  type  of  school 
each  year  since  1901-02,  Avhen  there  were  7,867  one-teacher  schools. 

The  tendency  in  North  Carolina  is  tow^ard  the  larger  type  of  school,  one 
that  has  five,  six,  and  more  than  six  teachers.  The  follow^ing  table  shows 
the  growth  in  this  larger  size  school  during  the  past  four  years: 


Year 

White 

Colored 

Total 

1921-22 

326 

29 

356 

1922-23 

45S 

33 

491 

1923-24 

634 

57 

691 

1924-25 

703 

93 

796 

Tro.nsportation.  As  an  aid  to  the  consolidation  of  schools  public  trans- 
portation of  pupils  has  been  brought  about.  In  most  instances  the  transpor- 
tation of  pupils  necessarily  follows  consolidation.  However,  it  is  practically 
a  new  undertaking  in  this  State,  having  come  with  the  advent  of  good  roads 
and  the  successful  use  of  motor  buses. 

The  following  table  shows  statistically  the  progress  the  State  has  made 
in  transportation  from  its  inception  in  1914  up  to  the  present  time: 


Number  of 

Number  of 

Year 

Vehicles 

Children 

Used 

Transported 

1914-15 

6 

150 

1919-20 

247 

7,936 

1921-22 

528 

20,359 

1922-23 

85S 

31,544 

1923-24 

1,318 

48,251 

1924-25 

1,909 

69,295 

1925-26* 

2,500 

90,000 

*  Estimate 

o 


15 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  HIGHER  LEARNING  AND 
TEACHER  TRAINING 

During  the  past  few  years  no  phase  of  educational  progress  has  been  more 
marked  than  that  of  higher  education.  The  institutions  of  higher  learning 
are  each  administered  by  a  separate  board  of  trustees. 

The  following  are  the  names  and  locations  of  the  State  institutions  of 
higher  learning: 

White 
I.     Colleges: 

North  Carolina  College  for  Women,  Greensboro 

North    Carolina    State    College    of    Agriculture    and    Engineering, 

Raleigh 
University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel  Hill 

II.     Teachers  College: 

East   Carolina   Teachers   College,   Greenville 

III.     Standard  Normal  Schools: 

Appalachian  State  Normal,  Boone 

Cullowhee  State  Normal,  Cullowhee 

East  Carolina  Teachers  College,  Greenville    (Two-year  course) 

Colored 
I.     Colleges: 

Agricultural   and   Technical   College,   Greensboro 
North  Carolina  College  for  Negroes,  Durham 

II.     Teachers  College: 

Winston-Salem   Teachers   College,   Winston-Salem 

III.     Standard  Normal  Schools: 

Elizabeth  City  State  Normal,  Elizabeth  City 
State  Normal  School,  Fayetteville 

Winston-Salem    Teachers    College,    Winston-Salem     (Two-year 
course) 


16 

There  are  also  27  white  and  5  colored  denominational  or  privately  endowed 
institutions  which  offer  work  of  college  grade. 

In  addition  to  these  institutions,  there  were  in  1925-26  thirteen  teacher 
training  departments  in  high  schools  for  whites  and  seven  departments  for 
colored.  These  departments  have  one-year  curricula  and  high  school  grad- 
uation is  required  for  admission. 

These  instiutions  constitute  the  facilities  for  higher  education  in  this  State. 
Upon  these  agencies  the  State  must  rely  for  the  training  of  its  teachers. 
E'ach  institution  is  given  a  rating  upon  the  basis  of  which  the  teacher  se- 
cures a  certificate  to  teach.  Credit  less  than  graduation  from  high  school 
is  non-standard. 

The  following  facts  give  the  status  of  the  teaching  force  of  the  State  from 
1922-23  to  1925-26: 


TEACHERS   CERTIFICATES 


Year 
1922-23 
1923-24 
1924-25 
1925-26 


standard 

N 

071 

-standard 

Total 

15,579 

4,972 

20,551 

16,795 

4,639. 

21,434 

18,240 

4,017 

22,257 

19,785 

3,116 

22,901 

18 


STATE   SCHOOL   FACTS 


RALEIGH.  N.  C. 


Capital  Outlay  Distribution 


On  September  15,  1925,  the  publication 
of  STATE  SCHOOL  FACTS,  a  five  column 
paper,  was  begun.  This  paper  is  publislied 
semi-monthly  and  is  sent  free  of  charge  to 
school  officials,  libraries,  institutions  and 
persons  interested  in  education.  At  the 
present  time  it  has  a  mailing  list  of  about 
3,500  people. 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  give  the 
basic  facts  about  the  schools  of  the  State. 
An  average  of  about  two  columns  is  de- 
voted to  statistical  matter  and  the  remain- 
ing three  columns  to  the  presentation  and 
interpretation    of    these    facts. 

After  having  published  this  paper  for 
nearly  two  years  it  is  felt  that  it  has  been 
a  worth-while  undertaking.  The  manifes- 
tation of  interest  on  the  part  of  the  public 
has  been  far  greater  than  anticipated.  The 
newspapers  have  cooperated  splendidly  in 
giving  the  facts  to  the  people  by  allotting 
a  column  or  more,  sometimes  on  the  front 
page,  to  the  presentation  of  the  material 
as  set   forth   in   each   issue. 


i 

:•;';:;,';.;:;:::: 

"  ■■',;'■ 

p,',','.  ■' 

:l:,  :.: ; 

s'lii  '.iuti' 

-.-,,.,,,.,,.,„ 

;„,.;,';:. '„i,;„.;- 

do'l"Ir-^'ivrr"ti^'o 

Capltjil  OuUa 

SZTl 

„„.    1021 

ls6ao7.ro 

I,crun.l.cl.oob|| 

rectdlnt.     Over  n 

ilMion  nnci  .  Hull 

ivcre  m.ae  du 

oe  io=i--'s 

W  U„. 

This  Bulletin  Was  Prepared 
Foe  the   Sesqui-Centennial,  Exposition  Held   at   Philadelphia 
July  15,   1926 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00034021987 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A-368,  Rev.  8/95 


